severe Storms Threaten East Coast as Australia experiences Stark Temperature Divide
SYDNEY – A broad area stretching from north Queensland to New South Wales faces a risk of severe thunderstorms this Saturday, with potential warnings for damaging winds, large hail, and heavy rainfall. Meanwhile, a dramatic temperature contrast is unfolding across the country, with the east coast experiencing record-breaking warmth while southern regions brace for snow on the frist day of summer.
According to the ABC News, the primary threat from Saturday’s storms will be heavy, slow-moving rainfall in the tropics, coupled with damaging winds in the south driven by a strong westerly jet stream. South-east Queensland, including Brisbane, could also experience heavy falls and isolated pockets of hail during Saturday afternoon. Gusty storms are also anticipated over south-east NSW due to a separate weather system.
A drier air mass is expected to move through NSW and southern Queensland on Sunday, tho humid and stormy conditions will persist in the tropics.
The unusual weather pattern is linked to a significant shift in wind patterns this spring, stemming from rapid warming over the South Pole in September. This warming weakened the polar vortex,causing the belt of westerly winds around Antarctica to expand northward.
“Compared to normal, there has been a deviation to westerly winds this spring,” the article explains. For east coast cities, these westerlies bring warm breezes in spring. However, for southern coastlines, they deliver cool air from the Southern Ocean. This contrast is expected to be notably pronounced in the coming days, with Adelaide’s temperatures perhaps 10°C lower than Sydney’s at similar latitudes.
Embedded within these westerlies are a series of cold fronts and waves of polar air tracking unusually far north for this time of year. Snow is forecast to begin falling on the highest peaks of Tasmania and the mainland on Sunday, intensifying with the arrival of colder air on Monday – the official start of summer. Current modelling suggests snow levels could reach as low as 1,300 metres in the mainland alps and 1,000 metres in Tasmania on Monday.